Liberal Democratic Politics, Discussion and Snark

Well, we already knew that the Bush Administration was a bunch of criminals, but here’s the proof that they knew it and tried to make it okay:

The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president’s ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.

This particular memo was penned by John C. Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. John C. Yoo is the Administration’s architect of torture. There is zero way to make this funny or lighthearted. John Yoo is unamerican and deserves to be held responsible for destroying our constitution, our national dignity and our standing in the world. Not to mention all of the crimes committed in Liberty’s name due to his vicious pen.

Glenn Greenwald puts some excellent perspective on the John McCain “centrism” fallacy. He writes:

At the very core of the media’s reverence for John McCain is the blatant, tired myth that he’s a “centrist.”

Like Lieberman, McCain may deviate from right-wing dogma on discrete issues when it comes to domestic policy questions. But on questions of foreign policy, national security and war, McCain — and Lieberman — are as extremist as it gets in the mainstream political spectrum. On those obviously central issues, there simply is nobody and nothing to the Right of McCain.

McCain marks the absolute outer ideological boundary of American militarism, imperialism and war-making, particularly (though not only) in the Middle East. That’s why he’s long been enthusiastically supported by the country’s most crazed warmongers — such as Bill Kristol, James Woolsey, most of the PNAC crowd, and Lieberman. In no meaningful sense are such individuals “centrists,” and neither is McCain.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Honestly, anyone who votes against a ban on torture, or willingly subjects our troops to unnecessary violence in order to prolong a failed war is nothing more than a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist with sub-par singing and songwriting skills.

Senator John McCain isn’t necessarily wrong on HIV prevention, he just has no clue about it:

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Thanks John McSame. No analysis necessary (but here it is if you want it). By the way, I think writing headlines with the words ‘John McCain’ and ’stumble’ is deplorable, because it makes me think of a famous commercial from the 90’s. C’mon, he’s only 71 years young.

I am curious though. If he’s stumbling on HIV, what else is he stumbling on? The carpet? The stairs?

In completely unrelated old news, one third of seniors 71 years or older have mental decline.

By the way, if you don’t think that his age is a legitimate issue, I dare you to let John McCain drive you down I-95. See?